Moyes: We’ll need Rooney if RvP gets injured

David Moyes has claimed that the reason the club won’t entertain bids for Wayne Rooney is because we need him… in case Robin van Persie gets injured.

“Overall, my thought on Wayne is, if for any reasons we had an injury to Robin van Persie, we’ll need him,” said Moyes. “Wayne can play up on his own, he can play dropped in. It’s going to be a time to see how I work with Wayne. Manchester United isn’t about Wayne Rooney. Manchester United is about the team – the club. I won’t allow Wayne Rooney to become more important than the football club and the football team, because that’s the heart of it. Maybe in a year’s time we might have to look at something else. The first year I have to get a chance to see the players and how best to use them.”

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150 Comments

Instead of just bidding left right and center for players that one after another rejects us we probably should reassess our approaches before we end up like a comedy club. Why the fuck would Fabregas leave Barca now? Thiago left, Xavi and Iniesta aren’t getting any younger and he hasn’t said that he is unhappy either. We just set ourselves up for disappointment with this one. And if it’s just posturing it’s fucking ridiculous.

the bid is real. i trust bbc. nice little distraction after the thiago debacle. but how daft would barca have to be to sell their only two non-DM backups to iniesta and xavi?

it would appear that united never made a bid with barca for thiago. all the news reports say we were talking with thiago and his agent directly, even agreed terms, but we never tabled a bid (clearly bayern paid more than the release clause, so that was a useless clause). i think thiago didn’t really want to join us, he always wanted to re-unite with pep. so it’s unfair to criticize the club for their slowness to react, and i feel daft for my earlier comments.

fabregas’d be a major upgrade on what we’ve got, and is premier league tested so i can understand the interest

but once again, let me re-iterate that this would be a daft move for barca, and cesc has stated he’d like to return to arsenal. if we bid and arsenal somehow don’t match, then maybe it is possible, but id give this one a low chance of happening and i’m more inclined to believe it is just for show.

if you think about it, the bid is way too low, the player probably prefers arsenal, and barca are short on midfield options. i dont see this one going through but it’s good to see that the first option to spend 25 million is not fellaini. with any luck, we wont have to go after that guy, as im sure there are class midfielders we could get for 25+ million even if it isnt cesc. lets raid dortmund for gundogan, or tempt leverkusen for bender…or fuck it, lets get both!

On the Fabregas to United story, I agree that it’s bollocks. After having lost Thiago, Barcelona won’t sell another quality midfielder who has already essentially stated that he’s happy sitting on the bench. However, I do think we should look at the Virus’s midfielders. They’ve just bought Illaramendi, Isco and Casemiro, which could mean that they are willing to sell one or two of Modric, Ozil or Khedira, all players who I think would improve us. Also, as Giggs11 said, we should give serious thought to bids for some of Bayern’s midfielders. There’s got to be a few who feel pissed off that Bayern have bought Thiago and Gotze in to play ahead of them despite them having really good seasons for Bayern last year. We could do worse than bidding for Kroos, Muller, Gustavo, Can or Shaqiri.

If you want to remain in a state of blissful ignorance go ahead. Bunch of childlike morons sitting around making daisy chains and discussing fantasy signings.You’re fucking thick in the head mate. “I think we should sign some of Real Madrid’s midfielders and a couple from Bayern Munich.” I don’t even know what to say to that. There are no words. You’re a fucking imbecile.

– No, this has got a variety of opinions and most people seem able to dicuss those opinions without being incessently angry or stupidly over-the-top with their “end is nigh” proclaimations.

The reason that I like this blog is that it seems to have more long-term United fans on it. People who love the club, have seen lon-term success and believe that whatever happens the club will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. A lot of people are mature enough to understand that we are currently in the biggest transitional period in our recent history and so are willing to be paitient. Are willing to trust the man SAF chose as his successor. Are willing to wait for the transfer window to have been open for more than two weeks before slagging everybody at the club they supposedly support off.

YOU and people like you are the problem. You are the typical modern football fan: impatient, easily led by the media into believing everything is falling to shit, thinking you know better than men who have been in the game for generations. YOU are the WUM.

Pipe down “The Truth” . no need to get into peoples faces. whats your deal.
Not trying to brand you or anything but its posters like you that gets everyone up in arms.
You’re vocal and outspoken. Fine. Share your opinions, just don’t expect others to tow the same line as you do. And best believe you better back up anything you claim because sensible posters on here outnumber the mugs.

– By “sensible posters”, I think he means people who can talk rationally. People who give opinions in a thoughtful way and not just shout others down. People who actually wait to see what happens before slagging off everybody associated with the club the apparently love. People that make suggestions rather than just moan that everything has gone to pot before a ball has even been kicked.

Don’t be angry – give Moyes a chance and actually wait to see what happens first.

We have to buy Imbula from guingamp in france he is a great prospect , a box to box miedfielder and only cost 10 millions euros , he may be the new makelele , he is technic , physic as well and has a good shot !

@AlphaRS
I agree we won’t pay £45mill. Cesc is good but at present a backup player at Barca isn’t worth that much. That’s the kind of fee for a key starter.

On Thiago yes he would have been a good signing but is he the right signing. Are we after a Thiago or Stootman who we buy for 2015 and on or are we after someone who has a high probability of being ready now in 2013

@Kagawa26
I’m unsure on Ozil and Khedira. Remember when everyone wanted us to sign Sahin from Real and then he went on loan to Liverpool and showed he was out of his depth in the EPL style of play.

While Ozil has got better for a long time he was Reals version of Anderson in that he couldn’t complete 90minutes

Modric is maybe a better fit but I was never too sure about how he would fit in when he was at Spurs and everyone wanted him. Personally I always thought he was more a Carrick player than a Scholes or a Keane

As for Bayerns midfielders. I think some of there’s are better suited in style and physicality than some of the Real midfielders but German based players also don’t have the best record initially settling in when moving to England. And I don’t believe Bayern will sell as I don’t see Thiago being used as anything other than backup next season

@The Truth
What players say and what they mean aren’t always the same though. Doing what Suarez is doing or for that matter even what Rooney has seemed to be doing as it annoys the club and forces the player to hand in an official transfer request thus losing them millions

We are gonna need more than this two to retain the title.Chicharito is good but not the real deal,welbeck is pants and when rooney goes on a hissy fit and RvP is injured cue a goal scoring drought.We are in urgent need of a midfielder but Moyes is proving to be stubborn and cant see our glaring deficiencies.Why doesn’t he get Obi Mikel who wants out at Chelsea?I cringe knowing that Carrick is our only reliable mid.Im sure I speak for most when I say I don’t fucking want to see players played out of position like Jones at the center of the park.He will be found out against the better teams and we will be run ragged.
Please Moyes,reinforce if you really want to build a dynasty.

I remember not so long ago,teams used to be scared stiff of playing United as we had that good players and the best manager to have ever set foot on a football pitch.Apart fromRvP last season,tell me when was the last tie we signed a world class player that got everyone giddy? I was expecting it this season but things are looking grim and you got to ask why players are choosing other teams like Thiago,moura etc.I don’t buy into the usual regurgitated bullshit that they are mercenaries just because they reject United.Something is really awry with whoever lures players to United.It took Fergie a long drawn out telephone call to wenger to get RvP,now he is gone where do we turn to?
I know there aren’t many players left to sign that are world class,but we made our bed.Signings need to be done early,we got ourselves in this position.Really troubled times and just by looking at our first few fixtures,if we haven’t got anyone by then and players don’t turn up when selected,then we might drop an awful lot of points.
City and Pellegrini are training thrice a day yet we seem to give our players excuse after excuse.oooh the heat against Singha was intense etc .This players were there for a few days and had training sessions,they should have acclimatized.Chelsea will challenge with jose and so will tottenham.Not bothered with arsenal tbh unless wenger can get two or three great players.So where does this leave us with no signing at all apart from that Varela fella?

Ojm and Proverb
I genuinely believe ayone now in midfield will be better than going with what we have.Clevz and Ando are injury magnets and cant last a full 90 minutes.Carrick is top drawer and tats where the story ends.Play Giggs in mid and we all know opposition players will be gleefully rubbing their hands knowng what a bluner we have made.Ok Obi might not be world class but he could do a job for us I believe.

“Wayne can play up on his own, he can play dropped in. Overall my thought on Wayne is, if for any reason we had an injury to Robin van Persie, we’ll need him,” he said during United’s pre-season tour of Asia and Australia.

“I want to be able to play the two of them, I want to use Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez as well. I want to give myself as many options as possible.”

So really just a case of sensationalism by keeping the former part where he says if RVP is injured, we’ll need Rooney. Still, isn’t that just common sense anyway? If one of our strikers is injured, we’re going to need to other one….

@Wakey – I am also not 100% convinced that Ozil or Khedira would be entirely successful at United. Khedira strikes me as positionally reckless – his position would be next to Carrick but I’m not sure he’s strong enough defensively for the role. However Real bought him for a relatively low price – estimated around £12 million – and now they have Illaramendi and Casemiro to take his place in the team they may be willing to sell him for a relatively low price. I think he would be an upgrade on what we already have, and he has a lot of Champions League experience.

Ozil seems to have fitness issues, and he sometimes disappears in games, but when he plays well he’s one of my favourite players to watch. Again, I think we should inquire about his availability as they might be willing to sell for cheap, as he may be viewed as backup for Isco next season.

I think Modric would be a great signing, ideally playing as one of a 3 in midfield, alongside Carrick and Cleverly/Anderson (I would consider Kagawa one of the 3 forwards). If we were to get him, I’d give him licence to come further forward than he did at Spurs and interlink with Kagawa and RVP. Carrick would still be able to play his devastating forward passes from deep, and we could use Modric’s close control and dribbling ability to help us break down packed defences.

I can’t see Thiago accepting a move to Bayern only to sit on the bench. I think Pep will have given him assurances of a first team place, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s written into his contract. If he’s not likely to start, why leave Barca? That said, I don’t see him as an improvement on Bayern’s current options. Kroos might start – if not we should go for him. However, whatever happens it will leave Gustavo – a very effective defensive mid – miles away from the first team.

@Kagawa26
I’m not sure he would need to be assured games immediately to play for a manager for a manager he has worked with in the past and has such a level of respect and trust in. Its the same reason you see a number of players choosing what seems the worst of their options to team up with a manager they had a good relationship with at another club.

On the others I still think the only one who might be a success from the off is Modric but he would require a change in style which would limit other players at the club significantly

@ZD.UTD – I agree Moyes did not mean that Rooney would only play if RVP gets injured, he meant that if we sold Rooney and RVP got injured we could find ourselves without a proven winner to spearhead the attack. Rooney and RVP are both players who can win a game on their own, and RVP has that habit of picking up injuries. This doesn’t mean that only one of them can play at once, only that it’s better to have two proven match-winners of that standard than one.

@Wakey – Fair enough. I stand by the idea that we need at least one midfielder to play next to Carrick, and preferably another young one for strength in depth. I’d also like a winger if we sell Nani. Who would you like to see signed?

@Kagawa26
For a midfielder for next season it needs to be someone who can play in our style (as well as being flexible if a different formation is needed for a game) and who is ideally proven in the PL as we can’t throw a young foreign player into the deep end and expect them to settle in a new country and a new style of play. CM isn’t a position that lends itself to such blooding of players into a new country.

The options do seem a bit limited mind you. Of the right quality Cesc and Fellani seem the only real stand out options. A young prospect alongside one of them with the long term view of them replacing Carrick would be useful which might be where one of the young players you mentioned may be suitable although there may be better options who are younger and would be happier in a backup role (and cheaper as those mentioned players may be expensive as backups)

@Wakey – I don’t think we should be limiting our search to players with PL experience – there tends to be a premium on them if they’re good. Also, although Fellaini would obviously get into our first team and would service us well in the PL, I’d like to see us make it a priority to sign a midfielder with better control with Europe in mind. I personally like what I’ve seen of Nemanja Matic, although I’m not sure how willing Benfica are to sell. If we could get him for £20 million, sign another young midfielder for back-up, and maybe a left-sided winger, I’d be happy with our business. I’d like to see more of Powell and Januzaj as well.

@Scholes18 – I’m surprised there’s been so little talk about Di Maria – he always looks quality when I see him play, and if Real are lining up a bid for Bale he may be available on the cheap.

@Kagawa26
The thing is though we need a player who can perform in the PL now not one who needs 2 seasons to adjust to a new league in a new country with a completely different intensity and physicality. Pretty much all the main leagues of mainland Europe play a different kind of football so expecting them to produce more than a handful of moments that shows real promise is way too much.

The Stootmans of this world may come good given time but playing them for the sake of playing them is the reason Wengers got in so much trouble. You need players capable of doing the job reguallry now and then blood the other players as you can.

On Matic in theory his background from Serbia should make him more suited than from many other nations but he failed to make the breakthrough at Chelsea before doing well at Benfica. Is this a sign that Continental style football suits him but English football doesn’t perhaps

DM, you should only be a manager. Don’t put your hand on coaching. Missing out on quality players. Watched the game in Bangkok. Such a poor display from English champions against Thai local team. May be because of heat of Bangkok, but still they were pathetic. Is Welbeck really a striker ? I don’t mind demoting him to reserve. Better to see Henriquez than him. Rooney is never a second fedal to RVP. They should both be in same position.

@Wakey – I’m of the opinion that our strikers and defenders are still a cut above everyone else’s in the PL, when they’re all available, and that Carrick and Cleverly have demonstrated over the last two seasons that they are able to link our defence and attack well enough to make us the best team in England. Carrick is absolute class and I wouldn’t swap him for anyone, but Cleverly, as it stands, is not among the top 10 centre-mids in the league. This suggests to me that, were we to buy a young CM from outside England, we could afford to give him game time alongside Carrick, or maybe even in a 433, and we would still be able to out-score most teams.

The difference between us and arsenal is that Arsene wanted to introduce a full team of inexperienced players at once – defenders and strikers who didn’t know the league. We have RVP, Chicharito and possibly Rooney who are proven goalscorers in the league and Rio, Vidic and Evra at the back, who have all the experience we could want. Arsenal, by contrast, had to rely on players such as Giroud, Chamakh, and Bendtner to score them goals and the likes of Koscielny and Djourou at the back, all while introducing new midfielders into their team.

Having said all that, it now looks like we’re in for Fabregas and Fellaini. I could imagine us dominating the league with those two, Carrick and Kagawa all playing at once.

I believe Kagawa needs to be a starter next year. He can be our Silva or Mata.

Fab and Fellaini!!! Would be be an awesome partnership. With Kagawa and Rooney and RVP. We would be unstoppable. I just hope United work fast on these 2. City, Chelsea are all flowing in the market. We cant hold back.. Just get the deal done and give us United fans something to look forward too.

I have been wholeheartedly supporting Moyes since he joined United, but if he REALLY made this statement about Rooney, it seems that from now on we will not see a SAF discrete approach of team’s internal affairs. It is an extremely unfortunate, if not provocative, statement, and I simply hope it does not reflect the reality. It would be much better to say expressly “you are not in my plans, I am going to sell you” than to treat a player of Rooney’s history and contribution to United in that way.